


Family

by thealphagate_archivist



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Adult Content, Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-06-15
Updated: 2007-06-15
Packaged: 2019-02-02 05:39:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12720756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thealphagate_archivist/pseuds/thealphagate_archivist
Summary: SG1 is a family in every way.





	Family

**Author's Note:**

> Note from the archivists: this story was originally archived at [The Alpha Gate](https://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Alpha_Gate), a Stargate SG-1 archive, which began migration to the AO3 in 2017 when its hosting software, eFiction, was no longer receiving support. To preserve the archive, we began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in November 2017. We e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are this creator and it hasn't transferred to your AO3 account, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Alpha Gate collection profile](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/thealphagate).

Family

Her nicely rounded belly was showing more and more, and what to wear was becoming  
a problem. They had been stranded on this planet for a little more than ten months, so  
now, with Jack's baby growing big inside her, Daniel's proposition was completely  
unexpected.

He waited until she was alone, with Jack and Teal'c hunting for dinner. He was  
uncharacteristically shy, and he brought her a gift, a small, juicy, native fruit, both of  
which caught her attention, long before he got to the point. Sitting next to him on the  
bench outside the little house they all built and shared, the late afternoon sun still warm,  
casting a golden light on their fair skin, she looked at the horizon and considered her  
great good fortune. She was marooned on a primitive planet on the other side of the  
galaxy, but she was with three of her most favorite men, her very best friends. Their  
lives together were relatively easy, with a temperate climate, sufficient food and water,  
and no apparent enemies or predators.

And to make her life complete, she and Jack had finally found each other, after many  
years of wanting. It was an adjustment at first, but the team managed... until now.

"It's just... I don't know how to say this, Sam, except to come right out and say it," he  
said, his eyes hidden by the mass of his grown-out, chestnut hair, as he looked down  
and took her hand.

"Go ahead, Daniel," she said calmly, though her heart was beating a little too fast. "You  
know you can tell me anything." She stroked his clean-shaven cheek, a result of  
keeping his field knife razor sharp.

"Teal'c and I... you know, we love you... right?" He looked into her eyes, and she was  
taken aback by their intensity and beauty, a teal counterpart to her own azure orbs.   
She nodded, swallowing. "And we... we know that you love us, too." He squeezed her  
fingers gently. She nodded again, sharing the moment, basking in the feelings, her  
own, and his, the love she saw in his eyes. He continued, "and you know we love Jack,  
too ... and you and Jack together... and we're happy for you ... for both of you, that you  
have each other and you're starting a family together." He was babbling, he knew, but  
he forged on, frowning slightly. "And that's kind of what I want to talk to you about."

"What is it, Daniel?"

He sighed and released her hand, turning away, leaning back, his face in the sun, his  
eyes closed against the light. "Teal'c hasn't said it, but I think he feels the same as I  
do," he said, projecting his words outward, as if he couldn't bear to say them directly to  
her. "We don't know how long we're going to be here, Sam," he started. His frown  
deepened, the furrows between his brows rising into his forehead. "And I just don't  
think I can stand the idea that, as long as we're here, I'll never have sex with a woman  
again." He turned to her, taking her hand again. "I think Jack has to share."

* * * * * * * *

"What?!?" Jack O'Neill was standing, his eyes flashing, looking like he was going to  
eviscerate someone... specifically the man who stood on the other side of the common  
room table from him, his best friend.

"You heard me, Jack," Daniel said quietly. "I've talked to Sam, and she said it was up  
to you." Daniel watched his friend carefully, knowing what Jack was capable of, his  
jealous fury when it came to the woman he loved.

"You're out of your mind, Daniel," he said grimly.

"No, Jack, I'm not," the younger man said, trying to keep condescension from his tone.   
Seeing his friend's mood, he decided to take a different tack. "Just imagine if you were  
in my place... stranded, no hope of getting back... my best friends going at it like  
weasels in the next room, night after night, day after day... Despite himself, Jack  
smirked. "...with no hope of ever having sex again, as long as we're here..." Daniel let  
his words trail away, painting a picture of loss and need. "You have to share, Jack.   
You just have to..."

Jack shoved his shaggy silver hair back from his temple. "What does Teal'c say?"

"You know Teal'c," Daniel said. "He would suffer... silently ... forever, if we let him."

Jack sat down heavily, suddenly ashamed. He'd been so overwhelmed by the fruition  
of his love for Sam, so joyous that she admitted to loving him as much as he loved her,  
so blind-sided by the intensity of their physical relationship, so delirious with their  
pregnancy, he hadn't really considered the other two men, their needs, their wants. He  
knew the loneliness of masturbation. He knew the frustration of abstinence. Could he  
really condemn these two men he loved to that kind of pain for the rest of their lives?

"I have to talk to Sam," he said quietly. Daniel nodded.

* * * * * * * *

They walked under the dim light of two alien moons, one yellow, one blue. She knew  
what he wanted to talk about, but she waited for him to speak, knowing him as she did,  
knowing he needed to feel in control, even when he wasn't. But even knowing what he  
wanted to talk about didn't prepare her for his opening salvo. "Do you want to fuck   
Daniel?" he asked.

She stopped walking, reaching for his forearm, pulling him to face her. His vulgarity  
shocked her, but she understood the extremity of his reaction. "The only man I want is  
you, Jack," she said, looking into his handsome face, worn with uncertainty.

"But he said..."

"He told you I said it was up to you... and it is," Sam said quietly. They continued  
walking, her arm linked with his. "You know, I love all three of you, each in different  
ways." Jack scoffed defensively. "I mean it, Jack," she said. "Daniel is my mirror. We  
share so much, and we're so much alike. Teal'c is my rock, my friend and protector.   
But you... you're my passion, my heart, my body. I never want to hurt any of you, least  
of all you." She stopped and leaned toward him, arching up on her toes to kiss him.   
Their lips met softly, lingering, her belly in their way. He smiled, his hand around the  
back of her neck, familiar and possessive.

"You mean you would deny Daniel and T, if I told you that's what I want?" he asked.

"Yes, Jack," she breathed against his lips.

* * * * * * * *

The three men sat at the table together, their mood tense. Sam had gone to bed, the  
bed she and Jack shared. "I've made up my mind," Jack began, looking at his friends.   
"Sam said it was my decision and I've made it." He reached into the breast pocket of  
his faded BDU jacket and pulled out a piece of paper. It was one of the few pieces they  
still had. He spread out the folded document. "This is a schedule," he said. "I've  
shown it to Sam, and she agrees, as long as you do." All three men bent over the  
paper, studying it. "We can make adjustments, if we need them, of course," Jack  
offered , looking at his friends, recognizing with a shock their feral smiles of erotic  
anticipation. He leaned back and ran a hand through his unruly hair. "Geez, guys, you  
might at least pretend to be embarrassed, or something. After all, I'm letting you sleep  
with my wife."

* * * * * * * *

On the day the schedule went into effect, Jack wanted to mark her, to leave her stinking  
of sex, to cover her body with hickeys and love bites, his sperm in her every orifice. He  
wanted to plant a giant neon sign, a huge, Hollywood-Boulevard-billboard above her  
saying, this woman belongs to me, hands off. He wanted to leave her with no doubts  
about his love, his possession, his need for her. Instead he made love to her tenderly,  
kissing her belly, nuzzling her neck, fingering her clit until she cried out repeatedly, then  
rocking her on his dick until she came again, before he emptied himself within her,  
sighing her name, declaring his love.

And at the end of the day, when Teal'c took her hand to lead her to his room for the first  
time, Jack had to clench his jaw to keep from calling out to her, reminding her to whom  
she belonged, to be careful of their baby... all the things which welled up so deeply from   
within him. And as the sweet, muffled sounds of Teal'c's deep voice and Sam's small  
sighs reached him through the wall of their snug house, he had a new understanding of  
how difficult it had been for his friends these many months.

Because, the truth was, he and Sam hadn't been quiet, respectful, or caring of their  
friends' feelings. That first time, when she'd welcomed him into her bed, and he  
discovered the perfection that was Samantha Carter, how vocal she was, how  
responsive to his touch, her beautiful body quivering, they shouted their joyous union,  
reveling in the deeply carnal connection between them. And they made love  
everywhere, all the time, day, night and in between, fucking in the field, screwing by the  
stream, going at it near the useless Stargate, humping in every single room of the  
house... everywhere. They didn't flaunt their relationship. They were just mindless with  
erotic passion. And now, hearing the big man's roar, he understood viscerally, how  
significant this decision was.

He looked across the table at Daniel, studying his cards, slightly frayed around the  
edges. Jack laid out his hand gingerly. The younger man sighed, disappointment   
pinching his features, placing his losing hand down regretfully. "You wanna go for a  
walk?" Jack suggested. The sounds from Teal'c's room were punctuated by Sam's  
voice. Daniel looked up at his friend grimly. He nodded. The two men rose and left.

* * * * * * * *

There was only one good thing about the new sleeping arrangements, Jack decided.   
When Sam returned to their bed, their lovemaking took on a whole new dimension. He  
wasn't sure if she learned new ... things... from the guys, or if she missed him, or what,  
but her passion for him was profound.

At this stage of her pregnancy, he had to be careful with her. Her breasts were overly  
sensitive, sometimes even painful, and he worried about penetrating her too deeply.   
He lay beside her, her back to his chest, stroking her shoulder and arm, fingertips  
grazing the side of her overly full breast, kissing her neck, pressing his arousal into the  
cleft between the globes of her lovely, soft ass. She whimpered beneath him, pushing  
back against him, calling his name. "Take me, Jack. I can't stand to wait a moment  
longer," she said.

"Easy, woman," he gentled, reaching over her, pulling back on her thigh, to open her,  
testing her readiness, finding her swollen and wet for him, her clit pulsing beneath his  
touch.

"Now, please, Jack," she sighed, squirming back into him, cradling his already rigid cock  
between her ass cheeks, arching, trying to get him inside her. He pulled away from her,  
giving himself maneuvering room, fisting his cock to aim, placing the head at her slick  
entrance. In one smooth, hard thrust he sheathed himself within her, making her cry  
out his name. She reached behind, over her shoulder for his head, turning her face into  
his to kiss him deeply. He withdrew and drove into her again, careful not to impale her  
with his full length. "More, Jack," she breathed across his lips.

"I don't want to hurt you, Sam," he said, knowing his size could be a problem for the  
baby, something Sara told him, when she was pregnant with Charlie.

Sam's fingers stilled from her obsessive combing through his hair, the thick, silver mane  
he'd been forced by circumstances to grow. "You won't hurt me," she whispered. "Nor  
the baby. She hasn't dropped yet," she said firmly. Sam wiggled, pivoting her hips on  
the point, which was his stiff dick within her. Pushing back, she took more of him in,  
sighing. "More. Please," she begged.

Experimentally, Jack pulled back, slipping back in, pushing beyond, hearing the hitch in  
her breathing, the exhaled "oh" of pleasure. "Okay?" he asked, knowing the answer,  
wanting to hear it anyway.

"Oh, yes," she breathed. "Better than okay," she responded. "Again... more," she  
demanded.

"Yes?" he checked.

"Yes," she confirmed. "Hard."

Anchoring himself, he gripped her upper thigh, fingers digging deep enough to bruise.   
He pistoned into her, withdrawing, returning, gratified to hear her breathing accelerate  
along with his. Releasing her thigh, he grasped her breast, her flesh filling his hand,  
over-spilling his fingers, swollen from her pregnancy. He squeezed gently, deftly  
pinching her nipple, releasing it as she gasped, a deep spasm of arousal clutching him  
within her. Sliding a work-hardened palm down the smooth skin of her distended belly  
he slipped his fingers between her damp curls, pressing on her clit. She arched against  
him, her pussy clamping around his length. "Jack!" she cried.

He stroked the sensitive nub, his fingertips sliding over it like a tiny, oiled marble, as she  
began to pant, her hand gripping his forearm. She rocked against him, the pressure of  
his cock within her stretching her, nudging her cervix, building pleasure deep in her  
belly, breaking her, making her cry out, her womb clenching, a crest of arousal crashing  
through her, making her insensate, aware of only of the friction within her, his cock,  
hard and hot, pulsing inside her, frying her brain, her body obeying, quivering, fluttering,  
spasms taking her flesh, and his, slickly sliding along his length, until he had no choice  
but to follow, a rush of seed, flinging from him into her.

And after, as their sweat drenched skin cooled, his strong arm encircling her, her head  
pillowed on his muscled chest, she smiled, her fingers combing through the silvered  
hairs on his belly, his abdomen jumping under her touch. He kissed her head, his hand  
on her cheek, his own smile, rarely seen in the past, unmistakable in the darkness of  
their shared bed.

After a while, neither sleeping, each enjoying the quiet company of the other, he  
couldn't help himself. He had to ask. "Things working out?"

She smirked, knowing full well what he was asking, expecting it, wanting to make him  
work for it. "A gentleman, or -woman, never tells," she said, unable to hide her wicked  
smile.

"Well, yeah," he said, uncomfortable, "but..." He had so many questions to which only  
she could provide the answers, and he knew his queries were inappropriate, but ...  
still... he had to know. "Come on, Sam," he said, unwilling to give voice to his thoughts,  
but wanting to know anyway. "Please?"

And there it was... like a safety word. She knew she'd tell him anything he wanted to  
know. "Okay, what's on your mind?" she asked, pushing onto one elbow to look down  
on his dear face.

"Uh..." Now he was on the spot. Did he dare ask, who was the better lover? Was he  
capable to finding out whose dick she preferred? Who had the best technique?   
Normally, he wasn't competitive with the guys, each one doing what he did best, and  
Jack always assumed he was the best. But now... he settled for, "What's it like?"

"What's it like ... making love with Daniel and Teal'c?" she asked. He nodded,  
swallowing convulsively. "You really want to know?" He nodded again, no longer sure  
he really did want to know. She sighed and lay back down, snuggling under his arm,  
getting comfortable. "Daniel is... considerate," she said. He could hear the smile in her  
voice. "And... passionate... and... um... experimental...?"

"Kinky?" Jack asked. He so could imagine Danny-boy being just a bit kinky. It was  
wigging him out to be talking about this, but he was already feeling a little better now  
that the words were starting to flow.

"Yes," she said, after a moment. "I guess. Yes, kinky... but it's fun-kinky, not icky-  
kinky," she offered, not giving any details, knowing Jack really didn't want them.

"And T?" he asked.

"Um, I think Jaffa sex is ... sort of different from ... well, let's just say, I've had to tell him  
a few things... give him a little direction. But he's a fast learner, and he's very dedicated  
to making it work." Sam's voice sounded a little dreamy, as if she were thinking very  
hard about what she was saying. "I think what makes all this so... unexpected ... for  
me, is how different from each other you all are." She squirmed a little, moving onto her  
back, trying to make herself more comfortable. "I mean, Teal'c is a really big man.   
When we're in bed together I feel all small and girly. I haven't felt like that since I was a  
girl," she said softly.

"And Daniel... his feminine side is so well developed, I sometimes wonder if making  
love with him is as close to a lesbian experience as I'll ever have." She laughed. "And  
then, just as often, he'll be all tough and manly, taking me like a caveman." She  
laughed again. "For him, sex is for fun, a game to play."

They were silent for a moment. "And me?" he asked finally.

"You, Jack?" she asked. "You're ... everything." She turned, slipping under his arm  
again. "The guys know, no matter what, you come first. You are my love, my passion.   
I'm yours." He turned to kiss her deeply, stroking her lengthening hair behind her ear.   
"And sex with you? When we're making love, I feel as if you're so in tune with me, what  
I want, even if I don't know what that is, you do. You make me happy, Jack."

"I try," he whispered.

"You do," she whispered back. "Oooooh!" she said abruptly, clutching her belly.

* * * * * * * *

Grace O'Neill was born the next morning. Daniel served as midwife, Teal'c and Jack  
attending. And their lives together continued, the months passing, their days spent  
together, a true family. Teal'c's baby, Brae, was born less than a year after Grace. He  
was given Sam's last name, since T didn't have one. Jack's son, Teddy, came next,  
followed by Daniel's twins, Hector and Hannah Jackson.

There were bumps in the road. A severe case of food poisoning early on led to a  
community policy that Teal'c would test every potentially new food source, because his  
symbiote would heal him if the item was toxic. When Jack broke his arm goofing  
around with the kids there was an extended scolding led by Sam and Daniel, worried for  
his safety and the example he set for the children. But mostly the little group of  
explorers continued along happily, comfortably, working together as they always had,  
figuring out what had to be done and doing it... together.

It was after T's second baby, Ishta, was born, that the family experienced its first real  
tragedy. Teal'c began to withdraw, often taking meals alone, no longer bringing Sam to  
his bed, and one morning, when he did not rise with the rest of them, Jack found him  
dead in his bed, the symbiote cut to ribbons next to him, his hands bloody. The note he  
left told the story.

_My dearest friends and family,_

_I have known for some time that my symbiote was maturing. It became increasingly  
restless, jumping inside me whenever the children were near. When my little Ishta was  
born, it began to speak to me, telling me of its evil plans for her and for our family. I  
could not let this happen._

_Do not grieve for me. The years we were together on SG1 and here were the best of  
my life. I entrust you with the lives of our children and know that you will rear them with  
the same love and respect you have shown me. I go to Keb in the full knowledge that I  
die free._

_\- Teal'c_

* * * * * * * *

 

When Daniel came to Sam wanting to talk about "things", having waited until Jack had  
all the children in the field for the afternoon, she couldn't imagine what he might have  
on his mind. And when he finally spilled the beans, she certainly wasn't prepared for  
his request. "Teal'c's been gone for almost six months," he said. "When you and Jack  
are together now, I get lonely and I miss the big guy so much." Daniel teared up,  
running his hand through his hair repeatedly, trying to comfort himself.

"Me too, Daniel," she said softly, feeling her heart break a little, knowing that their friend  
chose to die, rather than put the little family in danger.

"He was so brave, and so strong, and I miss the certainty I had that he would always be  
there to protect us," Daniel said, sniffing.

Sam wrapped her arms around him, pulling him against her. He cuddled into the crook  
of her neck, so much like their son, Hector, only larger.

"Sam?" he asked from his position on her shoulder. "Do you think Jack would agree to  
... could we sleep together, all three of us in one big bed?"

Slowly Sam pulled away from him, holding him at arms length, looking at him in the eye,  
putting the full weight and authority of her age and station into her words. "No, Daniel,"  
she said, a small smile quirking her lips. "You cannot sleep in the bed with Jack and  
me. There's no way he'd go for that."

Trying to hide his disappointment, the former archaeologist sat up, a sheepish look on  
his face. "I had to ask," he said, an answering smile creasing his face.

* * * * * * 

"DaddyJack! DaddyJack! DaddyJack!" Hector raced into the yard, wide eyed,  
breathless, running into Jack's arms, lifted high and held against his chest.

"What is it, son?" At sixty, Jack was fit, strong, and clearly the pater familias of the little   
community, his long silver hair pulled back by a braided, leather strap, made from the  
skin of a native animal. The family had long abandoned their worn and threadbare  
BDUs, resorting to loose clothing, made from fabric Daniel wove on a loom Jack  
constructed for him at the end of the first year. Daniel also taught everyone, including  
the children, once they were old enough, how to spin thread from native plants and  
animal fur. When Hector jumped into Jack's arms, he tucked his face beneath the flap  
of Jack's coat. The boy was scared. Jack stroked Hector's back briefly before pulling  
him away, and looking into his little face. "Tell me," he said simply.

Swallowing convulsively, his little body shaking, his heart beating hard, he pointed in the  
direction from which he'd run. "Men," he whispered.

Jack turned swiftly, bringing the boy with him into the house. Sam looked up as he  
entered, sensing his tension. Even Daniel glanced up from the table where he was  
instructing the two younger girls. "Where are the kids?" Jack asked, handing Hector off  
to his mother.

"They're supposed to be in the field." she said. Jack glanced at Daniel.

"Get them," he snapped. "Bring them here." To Sam he ordered, "Get the P90s and  
my 9mm."

"What's happened?" she asked, even as she stood on a chair to retrieve their weapons  
from the soffit near the ceiling. Moving a cabinet to lift a floorboard in the corner, Jack  
squatted to recover the ammunition.

"We have company," he said tersely.

* * * * * * * *

Their visitors were from the SGC, SG14, to be exact. When SG1 found themselves on  
this planet nearly ten years before, the Stargate fried six ways to Sunday, the control  
crystal on the DHD smashed beyond recognition, they realized an outgoing wormhole  
was impossible. They were stranded. But they knew an incoming wormhole was still  
within the realm of possibilities, so they created a sign, easily read by M.A.L.P.  
explaining what had happened to them, the explosion which welded the ‘Gate's moving  
parts together, the arcing electrical charge, which blew out the DHD, warning anyone  
who might consider a visit to this planet that a return was hopeless.

So, it was with a great deal of incredulity that Jack greeted their guests, particularly  
after the commanding officer of the unit saluted him smartly, addressing him by rank  
and name. Lowering his weapon, motioning Daniel and Sam to do the same, Jack  
sketched the merest salute in return. "So," he said, his best Jack O'Neill sarcasm on  
full display, "what part of ‘don't come here if you ever hope to go home again' didn't you  
fellas understand?"

"The Tok'ra helped us out there, sir," the younger man said, signaling to one of his  
subordinates to come forward. He was carrying a large case, which he put on the  
ground and opened. Inside were a bunch of doohickeys, which Jack knew Sam would  
be eager to look at. He glanced over his shoulder at her, catching her eye. She  
shrugged slightly, glancing at the case, her mind going a million miles a minute.

Daniel stepped forward, standing next to Jack, a small half-smile on his face. "Uh, why  
don't we take this back to the house?" Jack swivelled, looking at his friend, recognizing  
that look, the one that said there's-so-much-more-going-on-here-than-you-know-and-  
we-need-to-talk. Nodding slightly, the leader of SG1 looked at his wife and his best  
friend and turned back to the team from their former home.

"Yeah, sure," he said. "Why don't you boys... and lady," he said looking over at the  
female member of the team, "join us, take a load off, visit a while?" SG14 waited   
expectantly for orders as their commanding officer considered the invitation.

"We'll have to check in with General Ramirez first, sir," he said.

"Of course, you do," Jack responded. "Come along when you're ready. Daniel, give  
them directions."

* * * * * * * *

"Well, what are we going to do?" Daniel said, his hands raking through the slightly  
graying hair at his temples, pulling the long strands back behind his head. He paced  
back and forth, agitated, seeing nothing but disaster from this latest development.

With age, hard work in the great outdoors and Sam's powerful love to support him,  
Jack's restless energy devolved into a deep and potent silence, which anchored him  
and made him whole. He no longer fiddled with things, needing to distract himself, to  
burn off the crazy forces which seethed within him. He sat opposite her, his hand  
holding hers across the table, their eyes locked. "Sit, Daniel," he said quietly. "You're  
scaring the kids."

Obediently, the former archaeologist sat next to Jack, anxiety sloughing off him in  
waves. Sam reached for his hand, as well, squeezing his fingers gently. They didn't  
speak. They didn't have to. The possibility of going home had been discussed ad  
nauseam over the years. They knew what they were going to do, despite Daniel's  
question. Finally, Jack released Sam's hand, pushed back from the table and stood.   
"Kids?" he said, calling the family together.

* * * * * * * *

"Colonel, where is the fourth member of your team?"

It felt more than a little strange to be standing on the metal ramp leading down from the  
Stargate, 28 floors beneath the surface of the earth (... Earth!), hearing the ubiquitous   
hum, breathing the familiar sterile air of Stargate Command. Jack found he was a little  
disoriented. So, it was Grace, tall, lithe, with Jack's dancing eyes, holding her father's  
hand, who answered the imposing man in the funny clothes. "DaddyT died about two  
years ago," she responded, stooping to pick up her little, brown sister.

General Ramirez stared at the girl. "Whose children are these?" he asked.

"Ours," the three adults replied, Sam and Daniel moving down the ramp to stand with  
Jack.

"Yours?" the General choked.

"You've already met Grace O'Neill," Daniel said, giving the girl a gentle smile. "Grace,  
General Ramirez. General Ramirez, Grace." The girl nodded, thinking how very silly  
the man looked with his mouth opening and closing like that. "This is Teddy O'Neill,  
Ishta and Brae Carter, Hector and Hannah Jackson," Daniel offered, gesturing to each  
child in turn.

"Major Carter, you're the mother of these children?" the General asked unnecessarily.

"I am, General," she said, Hector on her hip, Brae glued to her other side.

"By different fathers?"

"Yes... sir," she added at the last moment, only the tiniest trace of irony in her voice.   
Looking at her, standing by his side, Jack was never more proud of her, nor more in  
love with her, than now, her back straight, her arms strong, pale skin turned bronze,  
long, blond hair streaked with platinum from hours in the field. And only the night  
before she'd told him, she thought she was pregnant again. He would have another  
child before too long.

"Couldn't we talk about this later, General?" Jack drawled, walking down the ramp  
toward what would become the next phase of his life. "We're all a little tired after the  
trip. Maybe we could postpone this little shindig until after the children have rested?" he  
asked meaningfully.

The General shook himself slightly, feeling more than a little intimidated by the power  
emanating from this man, the legendary Jack O'Neill. It took him a moment, but the  
commanding officer of the SGC managed to recover his authority, and rising on his  
toes, still impossibly shorter than Jack, he ordered, "Take Colonel O'Neill and his family  
to the infirmary, and then to the VIP suite. Make them comfortable. We'll debrief  
tomorrow at 0800, Colonel." Jack nodded. "Welcome home, SG1."

* * * * * * * *

Neither Jack, nor Sam considered the Air Force's offer to return to active duty, not even  
after they were threatened with courts martial. Jack tendered his resignation, and  
Sam's, to the commander of the SGC personally. "Here you go, General. If you don't  
mind, my wife and I, and the kids will be on our way."

After some finagling with the county tax attorneys, Jack was able to recover his cabin in  
Minnesota and it was decided that the family would move there. Daniel opted to return  
to the SGC on a limited consultantship, coming home to be with the family when he  
could. After Sam's seventh child, Mary O'Neill, was born, Jack got a vasectomy, saving  
his wife from the more invasive procedure of having her tubes tied. The children  
laughed at him for about a week, when he had to sit with ice on his balls afterward.

One evening, the children lying on the livingroom floor in front of their new, favorite  
thing, the television, Sam and Jack sat on the little dock over the pond, their toes  
dangling in the water, watching the sun set. "This is beautiful, Jack," she said. "We're  
so lucky." She looked down, quiet for a moment.

"What?" he asked softly.

"I wish Teal'c were here," she said, her voice catching. Jack slid his big, warm hand  
across her shoulder, grabbing her upper arm comfortingly.

"Me too," he said, his voice little more than a rumble in his chest.

"He would have liked this," she said, a tear slipping down her cheek.

"I know," Jack replied, turning her chin, thumbing the moisture from her face. He kissed  
her upturned nose, each eyelid, and then her lips, pressing them with his own, invading  
her mouth as she opened to him, letting her down on the rough wood, covering her with  
his larger frame, his hand on her breast.

She sighed, flushed from arousal, the feel of her husband's hard body on top of her still  
a source of passion for her. "I miss your long hair," she said, scraping her fingernails  
through the short cropped style he adopted again upon their return. He leaned down to  
nuzzle her neck, pressing his thigh between hers.

"Should I grow it back?" he asked, scraping his tongue across the sensitive skin under  
her ear, nibbling on her pulse point, her nipple stiffening under his palm.

She thought a moment, at least until he moved down to her collarbone and began to  
unbutton her blouse. "I don't... no, I don't think so," she decided. "Let Daniel do the  
long hair thing."

Jack rose above her, her breasts exposed to the cooling air of the evening. She was  
still the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen, and he felt rich beyond measure that he  
was spending his life with her. "Do you miss him?" he asked.

It was silly, really, she thought. She did miss Daniel. They both did, as did the children.   
But that wasn't was he was asking, and she knew it. Even after all this time, Jack was  
jealous of Daniel, and the connection he had with her. "Of course I miss him, Jack,"  
she said. "We all do... but if you're asking whether or not I miss him in my bed...?"   
She paused, waiting for some acknowledgment from her husband. Jack nodded  
slightly, his eyes glittering in the reflected light. "My bed is full. I have the man I want,"  
and she kissed him, silencing his demons, forcing all thoughts from his head.

Jack dipped down to take a nipple between his lips, working his hand down her side to  
ruck up her skirt, knowing she wore no panties. "Here?" she breathed.

"Here," he confirmed, unbuckling, unbuttoning and unzipping. Without preamble,  
knowing she would be ready for him, he sheathed himself within her, swallowing her cry  
with a kiss of his own, thrusting into her hard, his hips grinding into hers, pressuring her  
clit against his pubic bone. He withdrew and drove into her over and over, feeling her  
inner muscles tighten, as his own arousal became explosive. "I love you Sam," he said,  
the urge to empty himself within her almost unbearable.

"I love you, too, my husband," she whispered, her own voice insupportable over the  
waves of completion rushing through her. And as her muscles clenched around him,  
the deep pulsation of her orgasm squeezing him, he raised a small cry into the crook of  
her neck, burying his teeth into her soft skin to muffle the sound as his hips jerked  
uncontrollably against hers.

* * * * * * * *

"Colonel O'Neill?" All around him the whirling and beeping of machines in the SGC  
infirmary sounded too loud. He winced, trying to open his eyes, the light too bright. He  
raised his arm, feeling too weak, searching his surroundings for Sam, Daniel and the  
children. "Colonel! Colonel O'Neill!" the familiar voice called. He turned toward the  
sound, wanting to tell whoever it was to just shut up.

"Doc!" he responded, his head too heavy to hold up, lolling on his neck, despite his best  
efforts. To his surprise, Janet Frasier stood by his side, her ubiquitous penlight in hand,  
trying to shine it in his eyes. "Cut it out, will ya?" he said irascibly. "Where's Sam?" he  
asked.

"Major Carter will be back in a minute," the doctor responded. "She's been here all  
night... but Dr. Jackson is here," she said. Jack looked around, his head lurching, trying  
to find his best friend.

"Danny-boy!" he said, trying to focus. "Ya look great! Decided to get the hair cut after  
all?" Daniel's eyebrows rose precipitously, moving closer to the man on the hospital  
bed.

"What are you talking about, Jack?" he asked. When an answer wasn't forthcoming,  
Daniel leaned down and spoke softly. "I thought you'd want to know that Teal'c is fine,"  
he said. "The explosion tore a hole in his shoulder and he has a bad concussion, but  
he'll be okay."

Jack looked at his friend in bewilderment. "What?" he asked. Just then, Sam came in,  
rushing to Jack's side.

"Colonel!" she said, "you're awake!"

"Sam," he said, reaching for her hand. As his fingers closed around hers, she gave him  
the strangest look, part-confusion, part-desire. He hadn't seen that look in more than a  
decade. Holding her hand, looking at her face, the fuzziness in his own brain receding,  
he noticed she'd cut her hair too, back to the old Air Force do. And she was wearing  
BDUs, just like Daniel. And her face... she looked so... young.

Abruptly he released her hand. "Where am I?" he asked harshly. "What happened?"

"We were on a mission to PX3-449, sir," Sam began, "when a battalion of Jaffa lobbed  
a couple of grenades our way. Daniel dialed the ‘Gate on your order and we were  
about to go through, when a bomb went off right in front of us. Daniel and I were able  
to carry you and Teal'c through. You've been unconscious here in the SGC infirmary  
for the better part of three days, sir."

Jack looked at her unseeingly. "A dream?" he asked bitterly. "It was all a dream?"

"What was?" she responded. Jack shook his head, motioning with his hand, swallowing  
convulsively.

Doctor Frasier stepped in. "He's had enough stimuli for the time being," she said,  
looking meaningfully at Sam and Daniel. "Why don't you come back tomorrow." In the  
bustling and movement which followed, Jack stared around him, particularly at the bulky  
form in the next bed, recognizing Teal'c, despite his bandages. Dully Jack wondered  
what happened to his life, the life he'd built with Sam. And as the clouds in his mind  
dispersed, he felt his heart break for the children who never were, the woman, who was  
never his. Tears he hadn't shed in a very long time coursed down his cheeks.

As the hours passed, the SGC quieting around him, Jack thought about the life he lived  
in his mind, reconciling himself to the loss. He was inordinately happy that Teal'c was  
still alive, but the loss of everything else was overwhelming. If he were another man he  
might have realized that his subconscious mind was showing him the value he  
intrinsically and viscerally felt for his friends and team-mates. But he was not that man.   
All he knew was he had everything, nearly everything, he ever wanted. He had become  
the man he wanted to be... and now...

Eventually he scrubbed his hand over his face and came to a few decisions. As the  
morning dawned over the mountain, even though he was deep within its bowels, he  
knew what he would do.

When Sam came to see him, so young and beautiful, eager and hopeful, he took her  
hand without hesitation. "Carter," he said, "as soon as I'm up and about again, you and  
I need to have a talk." She looked at him with a little bit of fear and more than a little  
desire. "Things are going to change with us, with all of us, and it's going to be good,"  
he said, with conviction. Unexpectantly he reached up, hooking the back of her neck  
and drawing her down. With everything within him, he kissed and released her.

"Sir?" she asked shakily, her fingertips going to her lips.

"Soon, Sam," he said. "Soon."


End file.
